Dallas Stars Blog

Stars announce signing of Yale forward

The Stars announced the signing of Yale forward Sean Backman Monday to a one-year, two-way contract.

Capgeek has it at $640,000 at the NHL level and $67,500 at the AHL level.

Backman is a small player (5-8, 165) who has fantastic skills and is a right-handed shot, so he seems worth the risk.

Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk played at Cornell and is pretty plugged into the ECAC, where Backman played.

“The people I talked to really like him and like what his potential is,” Nieuwendyk said. “He’s fast, smart, skilled. We like what we see.”

Nieuwendyk cautioned before the signing that any free agent out of college is a long-shot. Dallas has signed two previous Hobey Baker Trophy winners (the MVP of college hockey) and neither Junior Lessard nor Marty Sertich worked out.

Backman has been out with a heel injury and still is recovering, so the Stars won’t see him until later in the summer.

Here’s the press release:

Frisco, Tex. – The Dallas Stars announced today that the hockey club has signed free agent forward Sean Backman to a one-year contract.

Backman, 23, recently completed his senior season at Yale University, where he finished second on the team in goals with 21 and fifth in scoring with 35 points in just 29 games. He ranked tied for 13th in the nation in goals despite having played fewer games. The Cos Cob, Connecticut, native accumulated 126 points (77g, 49a) in 122 career games with the Bulldogs over four seasons.

The 5-8, 165-pound forward was named First-Team All-Ivy in each of his first three seasons, and was named ECAC Co-Rookie of the Year as well as Ivy League Rookie of the Year after his freshman season. He led the Bulldogs in scoring his first two seasons, winning the Murray Murdoch Award as team MVP both years. Prior to his time at Yale, Backman played one season with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League (USHL), scoring 29 goals and 27 assists in 57 games.